


high hopes

by who_tf_cares



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BAMF Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Inspired by Music, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Kinda, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Light Angst, M/M, high hopes by p!atd, i love it, i love the idea of keith getting flustered at lance being badass, i think? i'm not good at writing fighting so i kinda skip over it, it's basically lance fighting to music because he's bored, klance is no longer hinted at, like so little angst, there's also a keith chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-14 21:05:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15397428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/who_tf_cares/pseuds/who_tf_cares
Summary: Lance was kinda sick of this, to be honest.He'd joined the Galaxy Garrison for adventure, for fame and glory and recognition. Being a part of Voltron was an adventure all the time, and it was definitely impressive, but it got repetitive after a while. It was the same shit over and over again - defeat Galra, liberate planet, get planet to join alliance, eat, sleep, repeat.  He had signed up for restless exhilaration and blood pumping through his veins, and he wasn't getting it, even in a battle.He huffed out an annoyed breath muttered a low "Fuck it," under his breath before yelling out, "Yo, Blue! Blast that playlist, would ya?"-In which Lance is bored, so he decides to have some fun instead of waiting around.(title and lyrics in the fic taken from High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> uhh im still not used to writing and posting stuff for a fandom, and definitely not on ao3 (my wattpad phase was rough) so,,,,, have this????? i have NO IDEA if it's ooc or what but. bear with me. anyway hope you like it kthnxbye

_shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing, didn't have a dime but I always had a vision, always had high, high hopes._

Lance was kinda sick of this, to be honest.

He'd joined the Galaxy Garrison for _adventure_ , for _fame_ and _glory_ and _recognition_. For a chance to make his family proud, to support his mother as she grew older. And yeah, maybe bragging rights too - being a fighter pilot would always impress the ladies - but that wasn't the point. The point was, being a part of Voltron was an adventure all the time, and it was _definitely_ impressive, but it got repetitive after a while. It was the same shit over and over again - defeat Galra, liberate planet, get planet to join alliance, eat, sleep, repeat. And when they weren't fighting Galra, they were fighting each other. In training, obviously, although they did get on each other's nerves frequently. That tended to happen when there were only seven of you on a ship with not much in the ways of entertainment.

Lance had hoped that having his music back would alleviate his boredom and spice up life, but he couldn't listen to it! Pidge and Keith tended to complain about his song choices, so he'd stopped playing them aloud. And he couldn't even play music through his headphones because he could miss an announcement or he wouldn't be able to hear his teammates through the comms. Also, he was too afraid to ask Pidge to figure out a way to pause the music whenever a message came through.

But honestly, right now, Lance really didn't care, because he had signed up for restless exhilaration and blood pumping through his veins, and he wasn't getting it, not even in a battle.

He huffed out an annoyed breath muttered a low "Fuck it," under his breath before yelling out, "Yo, Blue! Blast that playlist, would ya?"

Blue's excited rumble drowned out the paladins' various protests and confused questions as a pumping beat began to echo through the clearing, where several Galra were shooting at Blue.

Lance smirked and stepped out from Blue's cockpit where he was supposed to wait for Hunk (who he knew would take another ten dobashes), and faced the couple dozen Galra sentries. The upbeat words setting his blood thrumming, the bass and beat vibrating through his bones, they finally gave him that spike of adrenaline and breathlessness that he'd been missing. His smile turned wild and he commenced his performance.

It was something he'd practised before, but not often enough that it was muscle memory. He loved the thrill of not knowing what he was doing, of being under pressure to think fast. Anyway, what he'd practised was constant movement, fluidity mixed with an unpredictability that created a savagely beautiful kind of dance. He'd also spent time figuring out how to shift his bayard from his trusty rifle to his sniper to his sword - the feeling that triggered it tended to be urgency mixed with determination and a shift in the steps of his piece.

All of this he used now, leaping off the terrain, shooting at the sentries in the back before jumping on the backs of the Galra and slicing those around him then flipping off the metal shoulders and throwing his sword into one that got too close. This is what he'd needed, he affirmed with a fierce grin. His blood was singing in tune of the music, his body was pulsing in time with the rhythm, his lungs were filled with air that tasted like metal before being expelled just as quickly as he blinked. The sentries dropped, not without dealing a few injuries to himself, but they went down quickly enough that he wasn't afraid. He wouldn't get too badly hurt. Besides, life without a few bruises was barely a life at all.

Lance kept going like this, his energy finally being put to good use, his heart finally pumping fast enough to make his chest hurt. He cut and shot and sliced and sniped and it was a whirlwind of destruction and it was _beautiful_. At last, he felt alive.

Eventually, he was the last one standing, like he knew he'd be. He whooped, pumping a fist in the air as he returned to where Blue was parked. He called up to her, "Thanks gorgeous! You can turn off the music now!" Blue hummed, her pulse in his mind helping his still hot blood settle as the rhythm faded out of existence.

Lance stretched, groaning as his back popped. He had a few moments to shake away his unsteadiness before climbing back up Blue's ramp and into his pilot's seat.

" _Lance McClain, if you don't get back here and tell me you didn't die you are dead meat!_ "

Oh. That's right, he'd just sort of… left his teammates without explanation while he went off and kicked ass.

Lance turned on the video comms give a fuming Pidge a wolfish grin. "Isn't that kind of against the point, Pidge-podge?"

" _Lance!_ "

" _Buddy!_ "

" _Lance, where did you go?_ "

" _Tell me where the fuck you went or else I'll shank you in your sleep._ "

Lance's eyes widened comically as he exaggeratedly breathed out. "Calm down, yeesh. I just went outside."

Shiro's brow furrowed. " _Didn't you say there were Galra sentries outside?_ " Sweat trickled down his brow. He was probably pulling off some sick manoeuvres out in the air, drawing Galra fighters away from Hunk's pick-up point (see: Lance).

The blue paladin kicked back in his seat, putting his feet up on the dash. "Yup, about two dozen of 'em. Yo, Hunk-y-dory, what's your ETA?"

" _Another couple dobashes, man._ " Hunk's cheerful voice lifted Lance's spirits. Bless that beautiful man. He deserved all the universe's finest foods.

Comfortable silence tagged with the offhand grunt reigned for all of thirty seconds before Pidge drawled, " _And what did the Galra sentries do when you went outside? Did they throw down their weapons and start dancing because you were bored?_ "

Lance rolled his eyes. "I took them down, obviously."

Keith snorted. " _What, all by yourself?_ "

Lance, of course, bristled at this. He hated when his teammates underestimated him. It simultaneously tore at his self-esteem and built up his determination to prove them wrong. "Hey man, just because I'm not you doesn't mean I can't hold my own. I was bored so I went out and yes, I fought them by myself. It wasn't like they were _actual_ Galra, they were just sentries. No big deal."

" _Are you injured?_ " The ever-pragmatic Shiro chimed in, proving once again how much of a Space Dad he actually was.

"Do you think I'd be so chill if I was?"

" _Probably,_ " Pidge chimed in, making Lance pout.

"Pidge, you're not helping!" He whined, listening to the younger girl snicker. " _No_ , I'm not injured, save for some bruises."

" _Dude,_ " Hunk started, his tone not the least bit concerned but more like a fussing mother hen, " _You have got to stop throwing yourself into risky situations for an adrenaline rush. You could get hurt!_ " Lance waved a hand, about to speak before Hunk added, " _I'm like fifty metres away._ "

Lance hummed in acknowledgement, lowering Blue's ramp so that Hunk could climb in. "Hunk, buddy, the last time I got hurt was when I jumped out of that tree and missed the swimming pool."

" _You WHAT?!_ " Pidge's half gleeful, half shocked shriek made Lance wince. " _Oh my god, Lance, are you an adrenaline junkie?!_ "

Hunk interrupted Lance's protests, exclaiming, " _Yes, he is, and_ oh my god _what did you_ do _to those sentries?!_ "

Lance sighed. "I was _bored_ , okay, I just did that… thing I showed you like, six quintants ago." Hunk let out a little screech of excitement, which Lance heard even clearer than the others because now, the yellow paladin was inside Blue and grabbing Lance out of his seat and- yup, Hunk was crushing him.

"That _worked_?!" Hunk said excitedly. "Shiro, he wasn't lying about not being injured. Nothing bad here."

Lance made a face. "Why does _nobody_ on this team have _faith_ in me?!"

" _What thing?_ " Keith interrupted Lance's indignant squawk with an interested question.

The blue paladin's tone immediately turned teasing. "Wouldn't you like to know, Mullet?" Even with his face pressed into Hunk's shoulder, he could practically hear Keith's scowl, could see how his feathers ruffled - or would it be more appropriate to say his fur? At Shiro's inquiring hum, he exhaled harshly, jumping out of Hunk's arms and sliding back into the chair so he could pilot Blue off the ground to head towards the castle. "I've been- training with music. Helps the adrenaline get going."

Hunk continued enthusiastically as Lance returned the pilot seat, leaning against the back of his chair, "It's actually the coolest thing! He turns on the terrain, sets the gladiators to be unpredictable, and like, _moves _.__ He's even figured out how to morph his bayard really quickly so he can like, shoot one and slice another one in half."

Lance grinned, somehow both proud and bashful as Hunk sings his praises. "Dude, it's not that impressive."

"Dude, it is that impressive."

" _You're totally an adrenaline junkie,_ " Pidge cackled, ignoring Lance's grumble of annoyance.

" _Could you show me sometime?_ "

Lance rolled his eyes good-naturedly, warmth spreading through him at the honest curiosity in Keith's voice, the excited spark in his indigo eyes. His grin became more sincere. "Anytime, Keithy-boy."

_didn't know how but I always had a feeling, I was gonna be that one in a million, always had high, high hopes._


	2. all tied up, no more love, and i'd hate to leave you waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah like two (2) person wanted a second chapter and one (1) gave me the idea so here have a mini little one of keith being Very Gay and lance being Cool

This was a problem.

Lance was annoying and loud and said dumb things and argued with him all the time but he was also observant and quick-thinking and kind and infuriatingly attractive and really goddamn good with a gun and Keith was watching his training routine and _this was such a huge fucking problem_.

After the mission in which Hunk revealed Lance's love of adrenaline (which, yeah, Keith could relate) a lot of things clicked into place for Keith. Lance wasn't a bad pilot - he just liked to have fun with his lion. Lance was just as impulsive as he was, except the former thought things through for a second longer than Keith. Lance had a love of music and _holy fuck he could sing, that wasn't good for his health_ and wasn't just spiting Keith all those times he blasted songs, he genuinely loved them. And yeah, Keith's a little bit of a hopeless gay, but he could push those things aside. But _holy fuck_. Lance's training routine.

Just… Keith had ninety-nine problems and Lance was every one of them.

Lance looked like a dancer. Graceful and surefooted, and like the whole thing was choreographed, but Keith had put in the settings himself - there was no way he could've predicted this. And the music wasn't half as horrible as Keith suspected, but watching Lance mouth along to the lyrics with a vicious, uninhibited grin, that was horrible because Keith liked it too much and he needed to stop. And if _that_ wasn't bad enough, there was that goddamn trick with his bayard…

Lance had looked over at Keith, winked and yelled " _Watch this_!" and suddenly, instead of a blaster in his hands, it was a sword and Keith would deny it to every deity there might be, but he actually _whimpered_ at that. Because fuck, Lance was always hot, but Lance with a sword was… Keith didn't know what it was, but it made his mouth dry.

Fuck. Keith was very gay.

A robotic voice called out _training simulation completed_ and Keith could do nothing but blink, face very hot as Lance walked up to him with a cocky grin. "So?"

"When did you get a sword?" Keith blurted out, brain still computing what his heart has immediately dubbed as holyshitholyshitholyshit _if you don't date him I will DIE._

Instead of teasing, Lance just laughed, pulling out his bayard and forming the sword again. "I knew you'd like that. It just happened one day while I was training. I got really frustrated - channelled you, basically - and suddenly, sword. Allura said it's an Altean broadsword."

Keith swallowed, sour at the thought of Allura and Lance. "Uh… it's cool."

Lance glanced up, taking in Keith's flustered expression, and grinned at him. "You'll have to teach me how to use it." Keith made a strangled noise that he was sure sounded like a dying goat, head suddenly filled with images of Lance's body close to his, Lance's hip underneath his hand, Lance's hand curled around the hilt of a sword underneath his. "I mean, Allura offered, but she's usually busy-"

"Yeah, I can-" Keith paused to clear his throat, his voice strangely high-pitched. "I can teach you."

Lance's grin faded into something softer. "Gotta learn from the best, huh, Samurai?"

And-

_Oh shit._

Keith was _really_ head-over-heels for Lance.

His face was really very hot as he swallowed again, unable to look away from those ocean-blue eyes that had him falling before he knew he'd stepped off the edge.

Why did this always happen with his crushes? He wouldn't even _realise_ he was half-in-love with them until, bam! They did something hot or cute and all the emotions came rushing in. Well, to be fair, Keith only had two crushes prior to Lance, but the point still stood.

Lance's brow furrowed. "You okay, Keith?"

"I'm- fine!" Keith squeaked and slammed a hand over his mouth, mortified. Since when did he _squeak_?

Realisation crept up on Lance's face and Keith bolted out of the training room with a hurried " _gotta go bye,_ " thrown over his shoulder.

Holy shit. This was a  _huge_ problem.

 

Lance stood in place, swaying a little on his feet, the image of a very flustered Keith stuck in his mind.

Of _course_ it took a goddamn training routine to finally get his attention. What a nerd.

Lance felt a huge grin overtake his face and went to take a shower, humming the whole time and imagining what Keith's face would be like when he kissed him.


End file.
